Südwolle Group Positions Itself For Future Growth With New Appointments

January 10, 2017

SCHWAIG, Germany — January 10, 2017 — Südwolle GmbH & Co. KG, an important pillar of the European activities of Südwolle Group — a producer of worsted yarn in pure wool and wool blends — is strengthening its management. Effective from January 1, 2017, Robert Seibold has been appointed managing director Finance while Stéphane Thouvay has been named managing director Product Management & Innovation. Along with Seibold and Thouvay the Management Board of Südwolle GmbH & Co. KG will continue to include Manfred Heinrich (Technology & Production) and Hans-Georg von Schuh (Distribution/Sales).

Seibold, a graduate in business management and a recognized financial expert, has been working for Südwolle Group in various positions in the finance department since 1998. Initially he was Assistant to the Head of Finance and Accounting. In 2003, he was promoted and became department head within Südwolle Group as director finance before he was handed the power of procuration in 2012. From 2013, Seibold has been acting as director Finance & Business Organization with responsibility for of processes and the ERP system.

Thouvay, a native Frenchman, has extensive experience in the textile industry in which he has been working since 1997. Before joining Südwolle Group in May 2009 as director with responsibility for the segment weaving yarns, he was acting in various leadership positions at DyStar GmbH, a globally active supplier for the textile and leather industries. Most recently he acted as Global Business Unit Manager Textile Services in Frankfurt. He is a graduate of French university Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Industries Textiles and holds a degree in Business Management of the private university Damelin in Cape Town, South Africa.

Extension of Südwolle Group’s Management via promotion of long-standing managers
The appointment of long-standing managers to the management board of Südwolle GmbH & Co. KG is in line with the company’s successful evolution from a supplier to a strategic partner of its customers and the course of expansion over the past years. In his new position as Head of Finance at Südwolle GmbH & Co. KG, Seibold will report to Jacques van den Burg, CFO of the parent company ERWO Holding AG. Last year already, Jacques van den Burg had replaced Hans Münch as CFO of ERWO, who had retired as scheduled at the end of 2016. Thouvay will report as managing director of the newly created management segment Product Management & Innovation to ERWO board member Hans-Georg von Schuh.

In order to ensure that its key shareholdings, Südwolle Group and Hoftex Group AG, will continue to realize existing growth opportunities in the global textiles market, the strategic and operating management responsibilities within ERWO Holding AG have been redistributed amongst the existing board members. In this context, Klaus Steger will leave the management board of Südwolle GmbH & Co. KG to focus on the strategic leadership of ERWO Holding AG and its two main activities, Südwolle Group and Hoftex Group AG. In addition, Klaus Steger will continue to serve as executive board member of Hoftex Group AG and retain his responsibilities for overall HR, organization and procurement at Südwolle Group.

The shares in ERWO Holding AG will continue to be fully owned by the Steger family, which will retain its operating involvement in the group of companies, with Tom Steger continuing to act as Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Klaus Steger as Chief Executive of ERWO Holding AG and Hoftex Group AG.

Klaus Steger, Chief Executive of ERWO Holding AG, said: “By strengthening our management with the appointment of Robert Seibold and Stéphane Thouvay to the management board of Südwolle GmbH & Co. KG, we are consistently continuing our successful course of expansion of the past years. In this context and following our recent 50th anniversary, we put emphasis on continuity by placing our trust in long-standing and experienced managers, who have extensively proven their professional and leadership competencies. In addition, the family endorses its entrepreneurial commitment by focusing on strategic impulses and their consistent implemention going forward. Our declared goal is to remain a valued strategic partner for our customers, by distinguishing ourselves through innovation power, reliability, and highest product quality.”